Fastening arrangement for sheet material of an enclosure of a chairlift

ABSTRACT

A fastening arrangement ( 1 ) for sheet material of an enclosure [bubble top] of a chairlift has an enclosure frame ( 1 ) that is provided with a slot ( 31 ) receiving the sheet material of an enclosure. Into said slot ( 31 ) there may be inserted a one-piece (in a cross-sectional view) profiled rubber element ( 2 ), which surrounds the edge of the sheet material and which consists of softer material ( 4 ) at the bottom of said slot ( 31 ) than the material at the upper section ( 3 ) that engages the enclosure frame. Thus, the sheet material of an enclosure can be held in place directly and any application of synthetic foam or adhesive to the rubber seal becomes unnecessary.

[0001] The invention relates to a fastening arrangement for sheet material of an enclosure of a chairlift.

[0002] In the state-of-the-art, it is known to fasten large plastic enclosures [bubble tops] for chairlifts to a swivable frame whereby the frame serves to close and open the enclosure during operation. The space between the sheet material and the enclosure frame is currently filled with synthetic foam and glued together. An additional known possibility is the fastening of the sheet material by means of screws, which press together the frame around the enclosure.

[0003] Both processes in prior art are optically not particularly attractive and are additionally complicated in installation, and replacement of the sheet material of the enclosure is time-consuming.

[0004] Based on the present state-of-the-art, the object of the invention is to provide a fastening arrangement of the type mentioned in the beginning with which these problems are eliminated.

[0005] This object is achieved according the invention in that the enclosure frame is provided with a slot receiving the sheet material of the enclosure into which a profiled rubber element may be inserted, which consists of softer material at the bottom of the slot than the material which engages the enclosure frame.

[0006] There are advantageously provided on the harder material of the profiled element at least one pair of rubber lips made of soft material oriented toward the inside of the slot and facing each other in pairs.

[0007] Through the use of harder and softer material in the one-piece profiled element, it is made possible to use stiffer rubber in the region of the clamping enclosure frame, whereas the part surrounding the end of the sheet material of the enclosure is softer. Through the use of the inwardly pointing soft seal lips that face each other, outward sliding of the sheet material against the clamping force of the enclosure frame is prevented thereby with certainty.

[0008] Additional advantageous embodiments are characterized in the minor claims.

[0009] In the following, the invention is described in more detail with the aid of a preferred embodiment example.

[0010]FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an enclosure frame with an inserted rubber seal according to a first embodiment example of the invention.

[0011]FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the rubber seal to be inserted according to FIG. 1.

[0012]FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view according to FIG. 1 with inserted sheet material.

[0013]FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of an enclosure frame with the rubber seal in FIG. 2 according to a second embodiment example having a protective tubing and an additional attached protective profiled element.

[0014]FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of an additional enclosure frame with the rubber seal according to FIG. 2.

[0015]FIG. 1 shows an enclosure frame 1 which consists essentially of round tubing that is cut open at one side at a specific width 31. A rubber seal 2 is inserted into this opening 31 whereby said rubber seal 2 has essentially the shape of the letter “U”. The seal 2 consists essentially of two different sections: a wide upper section 3 made of hard rubber and a narrower lower section 4 made of softer rubber. For example, the hard rubber is EPDM synthetic rubber with a Shore hardness of 80 to 95, and the soft rubber has a Shore hardness between 60 and 75. It is essential that a difference in hardness exists for the rubber material in section 3 and section 4. In FIG. 1, the seal 2 is inserted in such a manner that the soft rubber section 4 is completely embedded in the tubing 1 whereby, in contrast, the hard rubber section 3 protrudes from the tubing 1. In the harder section 3 there are arrow-shaped grooves 10 facing each other, which are here sealed with profiled moldings 40.

[0016]FIG. 2 shows in a cross-sectional view the seal 2 according to FIG. 1. The same characteristics are identified with the same reference numbers in all figures. The lower section 4 is provided with an enlargement 6 that has a recess 7 at the junction to section 3 of the harder rubber element whereby said recess 7 rests against the cutout 31 of the tubing 1. At the bottom of the lower rubber section 4, there are provided gripping beads 8 facing each other at two locations. Corresponding pairs of projections 9 are also provided in the area of the recess 7. There could also be a lack of gripping beads 8 and projections 9 or there could be provided one pair or several pairs thereof.

[0017] The upper section 3 made of hard rubber is provided with two opposed arrow-shaped grooves 10 which possible functioning is described in conjunction with FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. In the interior space 11 of the seal 2 receiving the sheet material there are provided two times two pairs of seal lips 12 made of soft rubber, which are oriented at an approximate angle of up to more than 45° in the direction of the bottom 32 of the seal 2. During insertion of the sheet material of the enclosure through the slot 11 and to the bottom 32 of the profiled seal 2, the projections 12 are bent at the sides 13 at an obtuse angle relative to the insertion direction - whereas the backside 14, having an acute angle to the wall, and they effectively prevent thereby outward pulling of the sheet material. At the upper end-section 33 of the seal 2 there are provided two opposed seal elements or seal lips 15 made of soft rubber, which rest against the sheet material after insertion of the sheet material of an enclosure into the cavity 11 whereby said seal lips 15 effectively prevent moisture from entering the seal 2.

[0018]FIG. 3 shows in a cross-sectional view the seal 2 according to FIG. 1 with inserted sheet material 50. The rubber seal 2 holds the sheet material 50 securely in place without additional gluing and this is accomplished without prior insertion into the tubing 1. It is easy to see that the ends of the projections and the seal lips 12 are bent in the direction of the bottom 32 of the seal 2 whereby they are more flexible than the hard rubber section 3. The pair of projections 9, which are here provided with varying bead diameters, are also compressed.

[0019]FIG. 4 shows a two-part profiled protective element having a tubular element 20 to receive the tubing 1 and the rubber seal 2. For clarity reasons, there is eliminated the drawn illustration of an inserted enclosure sheet 50. The profiled (tubular) element 20, which is illustrated in another embodiment in FIG. 5 in a larger scale, is provided with two lateral arrow-shaped noses 21 that engage the arrow-shaped recesses 10 of the seal 2 to additionally secure the sheet material 50. Additional projections 22 may be advantageously provided on the profiled element 20 into which a V-shaped protective profiled element 23 may be inserted and which may form a lateral surface for the lower edge of the enclosure. The profiled element 20 has thereby no load-carrying function but offers attachment possibilities for additional elements by having the arrow-shaped grooves 22.

[0020] The advantages of this method is the fact that upon damage of these profiled elements 20 and 23, which are preferably made of synthetic material, they may be easily pulled off and replaced by one or two new ones. The fastening and clamping of the enclosure sheet into the three elements (tubing 1, profiled element 20, and inserted rubber seal 2) is thereby not directly effected.

[0021]FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of an additional enclosure frame with the rubber seal according to FIG. 2. A profiled element 20 is thereby provided having an extension extending in the direction of the sheet material.

[0022] In addition to the insertion and clamping of the sheet material, it is also possible to glue the sheet material to the profiled rubber 2. Thus, the sheet material and the profiled rubber 2 form then one unit that can only be removed together therewith. Not effected are thereby, as already mentioned above, maintenance and replacement of the two profiled elements of the enclosure frame. 

1. A fastening arrangement for sheet material of an enclosure of a chairlift, characterized in that the enclosure frame (1) is provided with a slot (31, 34) that receives the sheet material (50) of the enclosure and into which slot (31, 34) there may be inserted a one-piece (in a cross-sectional view) profiled rubber element (2), which surrounds the edge of the sheet material and which consists of softer material (4) at the bottom (32) of said slot (31, 34) than at the upper section (3) that engages the enclosed frame.
 2. A fastening arrangement of sheet material according to claim 1, whereby on the upper section (3) of the profiled rubber element (2) made of harder material there are provided at least one pair of rubber lips (12) oriented toward the interior (11 to 32) of said slot, facing each other in pairs, and made of soft material.
 3. A fastening arrangement of sheet material according to claim 2, wherein said pairs of rubber lips (12) are oriented toward the interior and in the direction of insertion of the sheet material.
 4. A fastening arrangement of sheet material according to one of the prior claims, wherein the rubber seal (2) having a recess (7) may be clamped into a first tubing (1) of the enclosure frame (1), and wherein the rubber seal (2) is inserted via a grooved connection (10, 21) into the second tubing (20) surrounding the first tubing (1) of said enclosure frame.
 5. A fastening arrangement of sheet material according to one of the prior claims, wherein the end (33) of said rubber seal (2), which is pointing in the insertion direction of said sheet material (50), is provided with two seal lips (15) that are softer compared to the material of the upper section (3), are facing each other, and are oriented in a direction opposite the direction of insertion. 